L- pours an amber brown with a thin head that has much carbonation.
S- Great. Lots of piney hops...I'm a sucker for such smells.
T- A little confusingly over piney. A citrus bite on the way out.
F- Much like many IPAs feel is a little rough.
T- I can drink this for an extended time. Not great, but love the brewery.

Currently drinking the Big Cock IPA from a shrink-wrapped can bought at Beertopia in Omaha (a fantastic store for selection, by the way). Cracking endless jokes about the name, my lovely bride of 14 years has now huffed off to bed. (It's a safe beer..it's shrink-wrapped!)

The pour into my St. Louis Cardinals pint glass gets a big head which fades to under a half inch in about a minute. Initially, the head is more than the beer by a hair.

The smell is surprisingly weak considering the powerful taste, but I get a grapefruit and pine whiff.

Taste? Something sweeter than I expect, citrus - like a red grapefruit rind - hits first, then the caramel undertones. There is a piney aftertaste which lingers long, long after the swallow...which leads to the....

Mouthfeel - this is a 'sticky' beer. A very thick feel, almost chewey. It hangs around as long as maple syrup. Not that this is a bad thing.

Overall - I was hoping for a little more, particularly in the taste since IPA's generally are my favorite. This is just an average IPA. Nothing to brag about, nothing to be ashamed of, but if you offered me one at the next party, I'd take you up on it. Just be sure to make clear your offering a beer...

16oz can, rigorous pour reveals an amber colored ale with a very thin ivory head, seems to be lacking some carbonation. Nose is heavy on caramel malt, toasted grain, sweet citric grapefruit, a bit earthy. Bready malt, toasty grain, caramel try to hold up to the massive citrus and earthy pine assault of hops, and actually don't do too bad of a job, but the hoppy bitterness lingers with some astringency in the end. Mouth-feel is creamy and smooth, but needs more carbonation, it's pretty flat. Overall, not a bad IPA, but it's rough around the edges.

16oz can poured nicely into glassware made to hold that amount of beer.
Very attractive beer, with a dark amber very clear body and a full thick dark head with sufficient lacing.
Hop forward nose with nice citrus and Am. style hops, but also a less pleasing mild hop oil that has a slight stale quality. Firm malt based.
Taste is to style. Well balanced malt/hop ratio with a full bitterness kicking in mid to a very long finish. Nice hop drying. Slight hop oil excess, but it doesn't take away too much from the other enjoyable flavors.
Moderate body that is satisfying, and a pleasing fullness to the carbonation.
Basic solid drinking Am. IPA to style. This brewery seems to do that very well.

I dunno guys. I ain't exactly a prude, but, geez louise euphemism jokes don't work unless they're at least a tiny bit subtle So, yeah, this name offends me--not because it's a penis reference, but because as a joke it is very horribly and charmlessly executed.

Aside from the name, the beer's pretty solid. Flawed, but solid. I'd had it before and assumed it was a bad batch. This batch is better. Smoother, fizzier, the malt less syrupy and the hop profile more befitting an IPA. The hops are still a bit hamfisted and the malt don't quite back it up--there's strong herbal nodes in there, but nothing by way of the breadiness or yeastiness that usually mark an IPA.

Thanks to haveanother1 for sending this, along with a number of other northern midwest IPAs, over in a trade.

A: Pours a dark reddish amber with 2 plus fingers width of light tan colored head, which takes a good while to settle down to a thick film that remains throughout the drink. Leaves a fair amount of lacing down the sides of the glass.

M/D: Very smooth for the style, perfect carbonation, medium bodied, drinkability is good. Very nice mouthfeel.

O: Overall, I thought this was quite good. There are not many reviews, but I am surprised that the ones that are here show this beer to be rather poorly received. I think its a well crafted, tasty IPA that I would certainly drink again. Above average in my book.

Appearance: Poured into a nonick pint glass. The color is copper with a light orange hue. Two fingers of dense, eggshell-colored head dissipated slowly, leaving a spotted lacing, ring around the edge, and trails of foam along the glass.

Taste: It offers a nice citrus flavor without the “bitter beer face.” The mouthfeel, though, seems a little coarse and it does offer a nice bitterness. Grapefruit, tangerine, orange, and lemon. It also offers the earthy hops, pale malts, caramel, and toffee of British pale ales. As it warms, the caramel becomes a little more candy-like and the bitterness beings to linger after each sip.

Drinkability: This beer is solid. It offers a lot of citrus and balance at the same time. Very well-crafted brew.

Pours a dark amber color with over two fingers of head that had good retention before settling to a thick cap. Moderate amount of lacing is left down the glass.

A lot of caramel malt in the aroma. Some floral and citrus hop scents. Does not really smell IPA like.

More malt in this IPA than what most brewers use. Taste a lot of caramel and bready malt. Does not taste artifical like some beers with a lot of caramel malt. The hops are not as forward as I would like. Mostly floral and earthy notes. It is bitter and I believe the 70 IBU claims. Tastes like an early example of an East Coast IPA with its strong malt sweetness.

Full and creamy texture. Nicely carbonated and presents a good mouthfeel.

Not enough hop flavor for me. Need some flavor payoff for the bitterness. The last couple Great River beers have not impressed me much.

The Big Cock had a thick, cream-coloured head to it. The body was a rich, amber hue. Its smell is slightly sweet, but being an IPA it was pretty hoppy. Despite how thick and foamy the head of the Big Cock had, it was surprisingly smooth on the tongue; not as carbonated as the head led-on. Just as most IPAs are, the hop taste is pretty upfront and the hop-bitterness hit right away and stayed well after it was swallowed.

Like most people... I bought it because of the name, but it really isn't that bad of an IPA. There are definitely much better ones out there, but they are also a lot worse. Plus some of the proceeds go to help pheasant habitats.

Would I buy it again? Probably not... unless it was to use it for shock value to show of to friends or something.

Aroma: Some nice barley in there. Not getting much in terms of hops but at 70 IBUs I'm hoping for lots of hop flavor.

Taste: Earthy/spicy hops and an overall sweet character. Hard to believe it's 70 IBUs because 40 or 50 sounds more realistic. It's possible the sweet malt character is covering the hop bitterness. Slight alcohol note. Almost like a light barley wine but without as much malt complexity.

Mouthfeel: Medium bodied and decently drinkable.

Final Thoughts: A pretty average beer and a slightly below average IPA. Would I drink it again? No.

A= Pours a deep dark amberish color almost a brown color that is nice and hazy. The head is a beautiful two fingers that have an off white color with solid retention and lacing.

S= Nice bright and resinous. It can be smelled from a ways away because of it's potent aroma. A nice little bit of maltysweetness to it that backs up the hop power a little.

T= The taste is a big bitter beast. A huge hop flavor with a little sweetness to it. The sweetness is a little weird however. It's a sort of strange in the sweetness however. Almost a little unfermented tasting. The hop flavor is more of just a big bitterness and less of the finer points in the hop flavor.

M= The mouth is great.

O= This is a pretty average IPA. In a world of world class IPAs this is easy to pass up on. I may buy it again because it's fun to say "pass the big cock" or "I'm gonna go home and guzzle some big cocks" but that's about it.

Good IPA!! My first beer from Iowa. Thanks to woodchopper who included it in a trade. Pours a dark hazy orange/coppery color. Big frothy white head with excellent retention and good thick lacing. Solid citrus hops aroma. Taste did not quite live up to the nose, but got stronger and more hoppy as the beer warmed. When cold, the initial blast of citrus hops faded fast. Lingered longer when the beer was warmer.

Mouthfeel was a bit thin at first, but the accumulation of hoppy blows takes care of the tongue as you keep drinking. Nice bitterness, carbonation just right...nice and crisp with a good bite.

There are better IPAs out there but this is a pretty solid one. Would definitely try one again.

Pours a good copper with a withering finger of peanut foam leaving a solid sheet and some spotty lace. The nose here is comprised of grapefruit, grass, manure (oddly, but not badly) and some lemon peel. Flavor follows through with a nice spicy hop feel and citric burn. Surprisingly (despite the review just below me), I don't find this one particularly bitter, and in fact quite balanced in favor of the malts which are sweetly english in character. Upon further inspection, there is a decent bitter kick at the end, but I dig it as it is fleeting and not overshadowing the other characteristics. Medium bodied with hi carb.

This beer is pretty yummy, I would totally drink this again and would love to get a 4 pack to take with me hunting! Plus, awesome name.

A- Pours a beautiful looking three inch, off-white head on a ruby red colored body. Lots of suspended sediment and a few streams of effervescence float on upward. Clumpy lacing lines the edge of the tulip and the head stays around very nicely.

S- Aroma is of citrus (red grapefruit), it's faint but there. Opens up as the Big Cock warms a little.

T- Citrus notes that aren't as "in your face" as some of my favorites in the style but that's alright...nicely balanced with the malts. Very bitter hops taste lingers after each sip. My ABV detectors put this right around the stated alcohol content.

M- Medium mouthfeel and damn near perfect carbonation.

D/O- I believe the only negative in my book when it comes to Big Cock is the overkill on the bittering hops. Other than that Great River Big Cock IPA is an slightly above average IPA that is recommended to fans of the style.

Appearance- Three-fingers of off-white orange head. There are lots of craters and bubbles in the thick cap.

The body is more of a burnt orange with amber highlights. I am really impressed with the head retention and the spidery lace.

Smell- The hop notes are not jumping out at me, sort of citrusy and grassy, only slightly bitter. A slight, white bread malt flavor sweetens the scent.

Taste- Luckily, hops are noticeable all the way through the sip. Not the most flavorful, but they do a good job of bittering. Here they taste grassy, slightly citrus, and even a little floral.

The malt may be too forward for some, but regardless, the biscuity flavor fits and really smoothes this one out.

Mouth feel- This is huge for an IPA and the carbonation is almost perfect. It is really creamy.

Overall- If you came looking for a hop bomb, there will be some manner of disappointment. The beer goes for milder, bittering hops and a strong, biscuit malt. The combination works in my opinion; and I would definitely have it again.

POUR: auburn colored liquid fills our glass and a very rich and creamy head erupts on top leaving some streaks of lacing as this IPA recedes. Carbonation levels look great and this is clean and clear. Very nice looking pour.

TASTE: first sip and I come across what appears to be a very balanced IPA with a rich, malty backbone backing up less pronounced hoppiness. Some flavors of orange and grapefruit are there and the finish is one with lingering bitterness and mouth drying potency. A little light in body but certainly not an IPA to turnaway or put back on the shelf.

OVERALL: solid IPA. Not a huge amount of pine or grapefruit and its not a hop bomb by any means but its a very drinkable and balanced hop-forward beer. I wish it had just a little more oomph to propel it into greatness but that's just me. Cheers! I really do love most everything from this brewery.